Walsall’s unbeaten start to the season was rescued in the second minute of stoppage time when a disputed offside decision denied County substitute Yoann Arquin a dramatic winner with the home side hanging on desperately.

Alan Sheehan floated a free-kick into the box where Arquin rose to head what he thought was his second of the match, but an assistant referee raised his flag immediately and the Saddlers held onto a point – but failed to record four successive wins at the start of a season for the first time since 1920.

County players surrounded referee Iain Williamson to protest after the final whistle, but Walsall manager Dean Smith insisted it was the correct decision.

“We work on holding the line in those situations and the lad started in an offside position. He was standing offside,” he said

The Pies piled on the pressure in the last 15 minutes and looked capable of winning the game, after losing their first two league matches to tough opposition, but Smith was convinced his men should have won.

“We could have been out of sight if we had taken our chances in the second half, but we lost our way in the last 15 minutes. We had some really good chances but didn’t take them.

“They dropped deep and made it difficult for us to get behind them in the first half and we never moved the ball as quickly as I would have liked, though the pitch was a bit slow today.”

Smith said his men were a bit aggrieved at half-time because County’s skipper Dean Leacock could have had four yellow cards, rather than the one he was given.

Walsall were, however, a bit sloppy at times in the first half, with midfield men often caught in possession by the speed of County’s challenges, and home keeper Richard O’Donnell – the sponsors’ man-of-the-match – had to make two crucial saves after Ashley Hemmings had been denied by County’s Bartosz Bialkowski in the second minute.

After just six minutes a short free-kick saw Joss Labadie unleash a vicious low drive which O’Donnell went full length to save, and a casual ball out of defence by Paul Downing on 17 minutes should have been punished, but again O’Donnell flew to his right to grab the ball on the line as Callum McGregor pulled the trigger.

The Saddlers, missing the injured Milan Lalkovic up front, made little impact in the final third of the pitch, and in the 31st minute O’Donnell was called upon to make yet another save from Mark Fotheringham.

Walsall were not winning enough balls in midfield, but the half-time break seemed to be a wake-up call and five minutes into the second half they took the lead. There seemed no danger when former West Brom striker Romaine Sawyers picked up a loose ball, but after driving forward he let fly with his right foot from 25 yards the the ball beat Bialkowski just inside the right hand post. It was his first goal for the club on his full debut

Four minutes later Craig Westecarr, put through by Sawyers, saw the keeper save his shot, then he drove wide from a Sam Mantom pass, and in the 63rd minute he whipped the ball across the face of goal but James Baxendale just failed to make contact.

County appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty when a volley from lively sub David Bell struck home skipper Andy Butler, then Walsall wasted another opening, Mantom shooting straight at the keeper when clear.

Fifteen minutes from time O’Donnell pulled off a superb save to deny the excellent McGregor, then on 90 minutes young Malvind Benning almost won it for the Saddlers with a stunning right-foot drive which Bialkowski brilliantly tipped over.

Walsall fans were holding their breath, though, for most of the closing minute when County, inspired by brilliant right-back Mustapha Dumbuya, McGregor and Bell, poured forward looking for the winner.

County’s disappointed boss Chris Kiwomya spent 20 minutes after the game talking to referee Williamson about the disallowed goal, and said: “I just thought it was too close to call and had to be a goal. I have looked at it a couple of times since and I couldn’t see it was offside.”

In the end both sides should feel reasonably happy with a point, but Walsall will need to improve to keep their great start going